The present disclosure relates to bale storage systems and methods, and more specifically to bale storage systems and methods in which a damper assembly is configured to dissipate the kinetic energy of a bale.
During the baling process, large cylindrical bales are rolled or otherwise placed onto various storage devices, such as accumulators, trailers, and the like. During this process, the bale's rolling motion generates a large amount of kinetic (e.g., rotational and translational) energy that must be contained in order to properly position the bale within the storage device. When attempting to contain the bale's energy, large impact forces are generated by the bale when it comes into contact with fixed-fences and other stops, which often results in large recoil oscillations (i.e., bouncing off the fence or rocking back and forth in the storage device) or damage to the device itself from excess stress being placed on the mechanism.